Single Conversion Advertisements

ABSTRACT

This specification describes technologies relating to content presentation. In general, one aspect of the subject matter described in this specification can be embodied in methods that include the actions of receiving ad information from a seller; generating, using one or more processors, a single conversion ad using the received ad information, where the single conversion ad has an available inventory of one such that only a single conversion of the ad can be performed; transmitting the single conversion ad to one or more potential buyers; receive an input from one of the one or more potential buyers; and notifying the seller of the user input. Other embodiments of this aspect include corresponding systems, apparatus, and computer program products.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to content presentation.

Advertisers provide advertisements in different forms in order toattract consumers. An advertisement (“ad”) is a piece of informationdesigned to be used in whole or part by a user, for example, aparticular consumer. Ads can be provided in electronic form. Forexample, online ads can be provided as banner ads on a web page, as adspresented with search results, or as ads presented in a mobileapplication.

One can refer to the inclusion of an ad in a medium, e.g., a webpage ora mobile application, as an impression. An advertising system caninclude an ad in a webpage, for example, in response to one or morekeywords in a user search query input to a search engine. If a userselects the presented ad (e.g., by “clicking” the ad), the user isgenerally taken to another location associated with the ad, for example,to another, particular web page.

SUMMARY

This specification describes technologies relating to contentpresentation.

In general, one aspect of the subject matter described in thisspecification can be embodied in methods that include the actions ofreceiving ad information from a seller; generating, using one or moreprocessors, a single conversion ad using the received ad information,where the single conversion ad has an available inventory of one suchthat only a single conversion of the ad can be performed; transmittingthe single conversion ad to one or more potential buyers; receive aninput from one of the one or more potential buyers; and notifying theseller of the user input. Other embodiments of this aspect includecorresponding systems, apparatus, and computer program products.

These and other embodiments can optionally include one or more of thefollowing features. Receiving ad information includes receiving adescription of the ad and seller contact information. The description ofthe ad includes user specified keywords. Receiving ad informationincludes receiving ad payment to be deducted according to one or more adpayment metrics. Any remaining portion of the ad payment is refunded tothe seller after a conversion of the single conversion ad occurs.Generating the single conversion ad includes extracting keywords for usein ad targeting from the received ad information. Receiving an inputfrom one of the potential buyers further includes: receiving a userselection of the ad; presenting seller contact options to the user; andreceiving a user selection of a user contact option. Presenting sellercontact options further includes determining temporal restrictions oncontact information; and presenting seller contact information incompliance with the temporal restrictions.

Receiving an input from one of the potential buyers further includes:receiving a user selection of the ad; directing the user to a landingpage including additional ad information and seller contact options; andreceiving a user selection of a user contact option. Receiving an inputfrom one of the potential buyers further includes receiving a userselection of the single conversion ad; presenting a bidding interface tothe user; and receiving a user bid submission. Notifying the sellerincludes notifying the seller of the user's submitted bid. Notifying theseller includes routing a telephone call to the seller from thepotential buyer. Notifying the seller includes routing an email to theseller from the potential buyer. The method further includes receivinguser comments on the single conversion ad; providing the comments to theseller; and receiving seller input updating the single conversion ad.Presenting the single conversion ad to one or more potential buyersincludes presenting the single conversion ad along with search resultsresponsive to a relevant query. The method further includes presentingthe single conversion ad to additional potential buyers until aconversion of the single conversion ad

In general, one aspect of the subject matter described in thisspecification can be embodied in methods that include the actions ofreceiving a search query from a user; identifying one or more searchresults responsive to the search query; identifying, using one or moreprocessors, a single conversion ad responsive to the search query;presenting the search results and single conversion ad to the user;receiving a user selection of the single conversion ad; and providingseller contact information to the user in response to the userselection. Other embodiments of this aspect include correspondingsystems, apparatus, and computer program products.

The systems and techniques described here may provide one or more of thefollowing advantages. Ads can be generated by users wishing to sell onlyone or a small amount of an item. Potential buyers can be provided withfunctionality to purchase, bid on, or contact the seller of an item.Additionally, ads can be efficiently selected so that they are onlyshown to potential buyers with whom the seller can interact.

The details of one or more implementations are set forth in theaccompanying drawings and the description below. Other features andadvantages will be apparent from the description and drawings, and fromthe claims.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example content presentation system.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example system for generating andpresenting single conversion ads.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an example method for generating and presentinga sing conversion ad.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example method for presenting a singleconversion ad.

FIG. 5 is an example search results page with a single conversion ad.

FIG. 6A is an example response to user selection of single conversionad.

FIG. 6B is an example response to user selection of single conversionad.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a computing device and a mobile computingdevice that can be used in connection with computer-implemented methodsand systems described in the present specification.

Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Users can be presented with content items (e.g., ads). Content items canbe displayed in various forms on a user device (e.g., a mobile phone,PDA, desktop computer). Different ways in which the user interacts withthe content item can be counted as a conversion. For example, the usercan click on the content item to reach a particular landing page, theuser can buy a product from the landing page, or the user can interactwith the content item in other ways. These conversions can be tracked inorder to, for example, charge advertisers for the conversion.

In some implementation, a single conversion content item (e.g., a singleconversion ad) can be presented. A single conversion content item is onethat is converted only once. For example, a classified ad presented tosell a particular user item. When the single conversion content item foran item is selected by a potential buyer, the seller can be contacted tocomplete a transaction, the potential buyer can submit a bid, oradditional information on the item can be provided. When the transactionis complete, the conversion can be logged and the content item withdrawnfrom presentation to potential buyers. Thus, the single conversioncontent item has an inventory of one item available for purchase by auser (e.g., resulting in a single conversion event).

In some alternative implementations, the content item can be a limitedconversion content item having an specified inventory greater than one.For example, a user can have three of an item to sell. In this scenario,the content item is no longer presented once all items in the inventoryhave been sold (e.g., three conversions of the item have occurredcorresponding to the available inventory). Limited conversion contentitems can be generated, presented, and converted in a similar manner asdescribed below with respect to single conversion content items, withthe addition of more than one conversion being possible for limitedconversion content items.

While reference will be made below to advertising systems and methods,other forms of content including other forms of sponsored content can bemanaged, presented, and tracked in accordance with the descriptionbelow.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example content presentation system 100.In some implementations, one or more advertisers 102 can directly, orindirectly, enter, maintain, and track ad information in an advertisingmanagement system 104. Though reference is made to advertising, otherforms of content, including other forms of sponsored content, can bedelivered by the system 100. The ads can be in the form of graphicalads, such as banner ads, text only ads, image ads, barcode ads (e.g., anad including one or more barcodes, for example, for use in redeeming thead), audio ads, video ads, animated ads, ads combining one or more ofany of such components, etc. The ads can also include embeddedinformation, such as links, meta-information, and/or machine executableinstructions. One or more publishers 106 may submit requests for ads tothe system 104. The system 104 responds by sending ads to the requestingpublisher 106 for placement on or association with one or more of thepublisher's content items (e.g., web properties). Example web propertiescan include web pages, television and radio advertising slots, or printmedia space.

Other entities, such as users 108 and the advertisers 102, can provideusage information to the system 104, such as, for example, whether ornot a conversion (e.g., a purchase or other interaction) or aclick-through related to an ad (e.g., a user has selected an ad) hasoccurred. This usage information can include measured or observed userbehavior related to ads that have been served. The system 104 mayperform financial transactions, for example, crediting the publishers106 and charging the advertisers 102 based on the usage information.

A network 110, such as a local area network (LAN), wide area network(WAN), the Internet, one or more telephony networks or a combinationthereof, connects the advertisers 102, the system 104, the publishers106, and the users 108.

One example publisher 106 is a general content server that receivesrequests for content (e.g., articles, discussion threads, music, video,graphics, search results, web page listings, information feeds, etc.),and retrieves the requested content in response to the request. Thecontent server can submit a request for ads to an advertisement serverin the system 104. The ad request can include a number of ads desired.The ad request can also include content request information. Thisinformation can include the content itself (e.g., page, video broadcast,radio show, or other type of content), a category corresponding to thecontent or the content request (e.g., arts, business, computers,arts-movies, arts-music, etc.), part or all of the content request,content age, content type (e.g., text, graphics, video, audio, mixedmedia, etc.), geo-location information, etc.

In some implementations, the content server or a client browserintegrates the requested content with one or more of the ads provided bythe system 104. The content and ads can be sent/rendered to the users108 that requested the content for presentation in a viewer (e.g., abrowser or other content display system). In some implementations, thecontent and ads are requested separately. For example, while requestedcontent is being rendered by a user browser, the browser can process atag in the rendering content requesting an ad for placement within thecontent. The ad can then be requested and incorporated into the contentwhen received. In some other implementations, the requested ad(s) areprovided to the content provider (e.g., publishers 106) such that thecontent including the ad is sent to the user 108 for display. Finally,in some other implementations, the ads can be sent separately to theuser 108 for local combination by the user's browser. The content servercan transmit information about the ads back to the advertisement server,including information describing how, when, and/or where the ads are tobe rendered (e.g., in HTML or JavaScript™).

Another example publisher 106 is a search service. A search service canreceive queries for search results. In response, the search service canretrieve relevant search results from an index of documents (e.g., froman index of web pages). Search results can include, for example, listsof web page titles, snippets of text extracted from those web pages, andhypertext links to those web pages, and may be grouped into apredetermined number of (e.g., ten) search results.

The search service can submit a request for ads to the system 104. Therequest may include a number of ads desired. This number can depend, forexample, on the search results, the amount of screen or page spaceoccupied by the search results, the size and shape of the ads, etc. Therequest for ads may also include the query (as entered or parsed),information based on the query (such as geo-location information,whether the query came from an affiliate and an identifier of such anaffiliate), and/or information associated with, or based on, the searchresults. Such information can include, for example, identifiers relatedto the search results (e.g., document identifiers or “docIDs”), scoresrelated to the search results (e.g., information retrieval (“IR”)scores), snippets of text extracted from identified documents (e.g., webpages), full text of identified documents, feature vectors of identifieddocuments, etc. In some implementations, IR scores are computed from,for example, dot products of feature vectors corresponding to a queryand a document, page rank scores, and/or combinations of IR scores andpage rank scores, etc.

In some implementations, the advertisement management system 104 can usean auction process to select ads from the advertisers 102. For example,the advertisers 102 may be permitted to select, or bid, an amount theadvertisers are willing to pay for each presentation of or interactionwith (e.g., click) of an ad, e.g., a cost-per-click amount an advertiserpays when, for example, a user clicks on an ad. The cost-per-click caninclude a maximum cost-per-click, e.g., the maximum amount theadvertiser is willing to pay for each click of an ad based on a keyword,e.g., a word or words in a query. Other bid types, however, can also beused. Based on these bids, ads can be selected and ranked forpresentation.

The search service can combine the search results with one or more ofthe ads provided by the system 104. This combined information can thenbe forwarded to the users 108 that requested the content. The searchresults can be maintained as distinct from the ads, so as not to confusethe user between paid ads and presumably neutral search results.

In some implementations, one or more publishers 106 submit requests forads to the advertising management system 104. The system 104 responds bysending ads to the requesting publisher 106 for placement on one or moreof the publisher's web properties (e.g., websites and othernetwork-distributed content) that are relevant to the web property. Forexample, if a publisher 106 publishes a sports-related web site, theadvertising management system can provide sports-related ads to thepublisher 106. In some implementations, the requests can instead beexecuted by devices associated with the user 108, e.g., by the executionof a particular script (e.g., javascript) when the publisher's web pageis loading on a client device.

Another example publisher 106 is a mobile application developer. Amobile application is an application specifically designed for operationon a mobile device (e.g., a smart phone). The mobile application canalso include ads positioned within the content of the mobileapplication. Similar to publishers 106 described above, the ads can bereceived from the advertising management system 104 for placement in themobile application when accessed by a user (e.g., when a particular pageof a mobile application is loaded on the mobile device).

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example system 200 for generating andpresenting single conversion ads. In the system 200, a seller 202 cansubmit a single conversion ad to an ad system 204. The ad system 204 cantransmit ads for presentation, including the single conversion adsubmitted by the seller 202, to users including potential buyers 206. Insome implementations, the ad system can also transmit limited conversionads in which a finite inventory of an item is available. In someimplementations, the ad system 204 can interact with a search system,for example presenting ads alongside search results. In someimplementations, the ad system 204 can interact with content publishers,for example, providing ads to publishers or users for presentation alongwith web content, e-mail, or other content.

The ad system 204 can include components for storing, recording, andpresenting both single conversion ads and multiple conversion ads (e.g.,ads that can record conversions from multiple users). The ad system 204can include an ad repository 208, ad logs 212, ad presentation manager210, and classified ad manager 214. The ad repository 208 can store adssubmitted by sellers including the seller 202. The ad presentationmanager 210 can identify ads in the ad repository 208 to present to auser, for example based on various criteria such as keywords in a searchquery, web page content, context, location, ad financials (e.g., costper impression). The ad logs 212 can store ad presentation andconversion events (e.g., users an ad is presented to, timestamps, adidentifiers).

The single conversion ad manager 214 can contain components forgenerating and managing single conversion ads (and/or limited conversionads). For example, the single conversion ad manager 214 can include anad generator 216, a conversion manager 220, and optionally a bid manager218. In some implementations, the single conversion ad manager 214 canbe a separate system from the ad system 204. Alternatively, as shownhere, the single conversion ad manager 214 can be incorporated in the adsystem 204.

The ad generator 216 can create single conversion ads and/or limitedconversion ads from user input. For example, the ad generator 216 canprovide a user interface for users to provide information about theirsingle conversion ad and can include a keyword generator/extractor toidentify keywords for ad targeting. Users may provide a one time paymentthrough the ad generator 216, from which the ad generator 216 cancalculate cost metrics for presenting the single conversion ad (e.g.,cost per impression or cost per click value used for the singleconversion ad). After generation, a single conversion ad can be storedin the ad repository 208, or in a separate single conversion adrepository (not shown). In some alternative implementations, the adgenerator 216 can generate the single conversion ads from information inother postings by the user, for example, an electronic bulletin board orclassified ads posting by the seller.

The conversion manager 220 can manage the interactions between potentialbuyers 206 and the ad system 204. For example, when a potential buyer206 selects an ad, information can be provided and/or received by theconversion manager 220. In some examples, the conversion manager 220 canprovide contact information for the seller 202 to the potential buyer206. The contact information can be routed through the ad system. Forexample, for privacy reasons, the contact information can includeanonymous email sent through a web form, a temporary email address thatcan forward to the seller's 202 email address, and/or a phone call canbe routed to the seller's 202 phone using IP telephony or a temporaryphone number. The contact information can vary according to one or morecriteria. For example, at night the seller 202 may not be contactable byphone such that only an email contact option is presented.

The bid manager 218 can optionally be used in single conversion admanagers 214 that provides functionality to bid for an item or servicefor sale. For example, a single conversion ad can have a starting bidand users that view the single conversion ad can submit their own bid.The bidding manager 218 can record all bids for a single conversion adand send the bids to the seller 202, who may select the bid they want(presumably the highest, but also possibly the easiest to ship to, a bidfrom an acquaintance, etc). In some examples, the bidding time can havean expiration time after which the highest bid is automaticallyaccepted.

The conversion manager 220 can receive comments or other informationfrom the potential buyer 206 and provide that information to the seller202. The seller 202 may chose to act on this information by modifyingtheir ad (e.g., changing a description, price, etc) through the adgenerator 216.

In some implementations, a balance of money can remain with a singleconversion ad after the ad's conversion, for example if a bid isaccepted before all impressions purchased are used. In this case, theuser can be credited the balance of money.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an example method 300 for generating andpresenting a single conversion ad. In some implementations, the method300 can be performed by a processor executing instructions in acomputer-readable storage medium. For example, the method 300 can beperformed by the ad system 204 of FIG. 2.

An ad interface is presented (302) to a seller (e.g., seller 202). Forexample, the ad system (e.g., ad system 204) can provide to the seller aweb page, application plug-in, application, etc. containing elementsinto which information about an ad can be provided.

Ad information is received (304), for example a seller provides adescription of the ad features (e.g., a name of the item, a descriptionof the item, a price or bidding range, location targeting information).In some implementations, the user devises keywords for ad targeting. Insome implementations, a one-time payment is collected.

The ad is generated (306). The ad can be generated from the userinformation and one or more templates. Additionally, targeting keywordscan be generated or extracted from the ad information. For example, anad listing the sale of a sailboat may have the keywords ‘boat,’‘sailboat,’ ‘lake,’ and ‘vacation’ generated by the ad system based onthe ad information provided by the seller.

The ad is presented (308) to one or more potential buyers (e.g.,potential buyers 206). In some implementations, the ad can be presentedwith particular content, e.g., search results, web page content, etc. Atechnique for providing a single conversion ad with search results isdescribed in greater detail below with respect to FIG. 4.

Input is received (310) from a potential buyer. For example, a potentialbuyer can click through an ad and select to pay the advertised price,place a bid in the ad, and/or retrieve additional information about thead and contact information relating to the ad. In some implementations,the potential buyer can provide input directly to the ad (e.g., a bidprice or to initiate contact with the seller). In some otherimplementations, selecting the ad results in the presentation ofadditional information. For example, the potential buyer can be directedto a landing page associated with the single conversion ad that provideadditional information and one or more options for contacting the sellerto purchase the item identified by the single conversion ad.

In some implementations, a user can perform other interactions includingreserving the item for some specified time in which the user cancomplete the conversion (e.g., a time in which the user can purchase theitem). The user can use the specified time to complete the transactionincluding payment as well as to interact with the seller, e.g., to askquestions about the item or service associated with the ad. In someimplementations, once the item has been reserved, the ad is notpresented to any other potential buyers unless the user fails tocomplete the conversion within the specified time.

The seller is notified (312) of the input from a potential buyer. Forexample, the seller can receive, through a user interface of the adsystem, a bid or comment submitted; the seller can receive an email fromthe sender requesting purchase; and/or the seller can receive a callfacilitated by the ad system form the potential buyer.

Input indicating that a sale is competed is received (314). For example,the seller can coordinate a sale by initiating a telephone call and/orsending an email as well as submit information to the ad system. In someimplementations in which a sale is automated by the ad system, the adsystem can generate an internal event indicating the sale. For example,a seller can specify a bidding time that can have an expiration timeafter which the highest bid is automatically accepted by the ad system.As part of accepting the bid, the ad system can generate a report of thesale indicating the sale is complete.

The ad is discontinued and the remaining ad budget is credited (316) tothe seller. For example, the ad can be flagged as inactive or deleted.Since only one item is available for purchase (inventory of one), once aconversion has occurred the ad is no longer displayed. This is incontrast to ads associated with a large inventory of items available forpurchase by one or more buyers. In accordance with the financialagreement associated with the ad, an unused ad payment used to fund thead can be returned or refunded to an account controlled by the seller.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example method 400 for presenting a singleconversion ad. In some implementations, the method 400 can be performedby a processor executing instructions in a computer-readable storagemedium. For example, the method 400 can be performed by the ad system204

A search query is received (402). A user can enter a search query into asearch engine. The search engine, in addition to compiling a resultinglist of search results, can route the query to an ad system.

Ads relevant to the query are identified (404). For example, ads withkeywords that are the same, similar to, or synonymous with words in thesearch query can be identified. The identified ads can include acollection of candidate ads that match the keywords or other criteria.The ad system can then select particular ads from the collection ofcandidate ads. In some implementations, the ads are ranked according toone or more scoring criteria (e.g., based on the degree of match betweenthe query and the ad keywords). One or more top scoring ads can beselected. In particular, the selected ads include a single conversionad.

In some implementations, the location of the user and location targetinginformation associated with an ad can be used in identifying or rankingads. For example, a single conversion ad having location targetinginformation indicating personal delivery in a twenty mile radius (e.g.,ads for a couch or firewood) from the seller can have presentationlimited to those potential buyers within the twenty mile radius (e.g.,they can be omitted from candidate ads or can have a large locationbased penalty to the score when ranking candidate ads). In anotherexample, an ad with location targeting information indicating aship-from address (e.g., ads for a book, collectable, or handbag) can beranked in part based on estimated shipping costs from the seller to theuser.

One or more selected ads are presented (406) to the user along with thesearch results. In some implementations, the ads can be formatted ordifferentiated from the search results to indicate which of thepresented elements are ads and which are search results. The presentedads include the selected single conversion ad.

User input associated with the single conversion ad is received (408).In some implementations, a graphical ad is clickable, for example, toexecute an incorporated link to a landing page. In some otherimplementations, a particular portion of the ad can be interactive, suchas a text field to enter a bid, a button to reserve the item, or a callbutton to initiate a telephone call (or voice over IP call) between themobile computing device displaying the ad and the seller associated withthe ad. For example, the single conversion ad can include additionallogic facilitating interaction including additional information that canbe presented to a user in response to a particular selection associatedwith the ad.

Additional information is presented (410) to the user. In someimplementations, the ad can change dynamically in response to userinteraction, such as by changing the text, displaying an overlay abovethe ad, and/or the creation of graphic element that pops-up or expandthe ad. In some implementations, the user's browser can be directed to alanding page with additional information. The additional information caninclude more details about the sales item (e.g., mileage reading on acar's odometer), contact information for the seller, presentation of acomment portion allowing the user to comment on the ad, presentation ofbidding information, etc.

User input can optionally be received (412). The user may provideadditional input, for example, to select a contact option, place a bid,reserve the item, comment, etc. For example, a user may click on abutton to initiate a telephone call, enter text into a bid value field,select a choice from a drop down menu to select a method of contact(e.g., email, telephone, instant message), and/or enter a comment to besent to the seller.

The seller is notified (414) of the interaction. For example, if theuser commented, the comment can be forwarded to the seller. If the userselected a contact option, the ad system can facilitate thecommunication such as by sending an email from the user to the seller,initiating an IP telephony call between the user and seller, initiatinga telephone call over the public switched telephone network, or creatingan instant message from the user to the seller.

FIG. 5 is an example search results page 500 with a single conversion ad502. In this example, the results page 500 shows results shows searchresults 504 generated in response to a search query ‘Sedan’ submitted bya user associated with a particular location (e.g., location can beidentified for the user based on a laptop with GPS, cell phone withtower triangulation, etc) in San Francisco. The single conversion ad 502was created with the keyword ‘Sedan’ by a seller with a home address inthe San Francisco area. The single conversion ad 502 was selected asrelevant to the search query by an ad manager because both a keyword andcity associated with the ad matched a keyword and city associated withthe search query.

FIG. 6A is an example response 600 to user selection of singleconversion ad. The response 600 can display to a potential buyergraphical interface elements, such as buttons 602 and 604, forcontacting the seller of an ad. The button 602 can initiate a telephonecall, for example, by routing a call from the seller to the devicedisplaying the response 600 or to a telephone number entered by thebuyer. The button 604 can initiate an email communication, for example,by providing a form to create an email message, or by displaying ananonymized email address that forward to the seller's email address.

FIG. 6B is an example response 650 to user selection of singleconversion ad. The response 650 can receive a bid placed by a potentialbuyer. An entry element 654 can receive a bid. Although this exampleshows the entry element 654 formatted to receive a bid in a dollaramount, alternative entry elements 654 can be formatted to receive anonmonetary bid, such as a payment in kind, trade, or barter bid. Abutton 652 can be used by the buyer to submit the bid in the entryelement 654.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a computing device 700 and a mobile computingdevice that can be used to implement the techniques described herein thepresent specification. The computing device 700 is intended to representvarious forms of digital computers, such as laptops, desktops,workstations, personal digital assistants, servers, blade servers,mainframes, and other appropriate computers. The mobile computing deviceis intended to represent various forms of mobile devices, such aspersonal digital assistants, cellular telephones, smart-phones, andother similar computing devices. The components shown here, theirconnections and relationships, and their functions, are meant to beexemplary only, and are not meant to limit implementations of theinventions described and/or claimed in this document.

The computing device 700 includes a processor 702, a memory 704, astorage device 706, a high-speed interface 708 connecting to the memory704 and multiple high-speed expansion ports 710, and a low-speedinterface 712 connecting to a low-speed expansion port 714 and thestorage device 706. Each of the processor 702, the memory 704, thestorage device 706, the high-speed interface 708, the high-speedexpansion ports 710, and the low-speed interface 712, are interconnectedusing various busses, and can be mounted on a common motherboard or inother manners as appropriate. The processor 702 can process instructionsfor execution within the computing device 700, including instructionsstored in the memory 704 or on the storage device 706 to displaygraphical information for a GUI on an external input/output device, suchas a display 716 coupled to the high-speed interface 708. In otherimplementations, multiple processors and/or multiple buses can be used,as appropriate, along with multiple memories and types of memory. Also,multiple computing devices can be connected, with each device providingportions of the necessary operations (e.g., as a server bank, a group ofblade servers, or a multi-processor system).

The memory 704 stores information within the computing device 700. Insome implementations, the memory 704 is a volatile memory unit or units.In some implementations, the memory 704 is a non-volatile memory unit orunits. The memory 704 can also be another form of computer-readablemedium, such as a magnetic or optical disk.

The storage device 706 is capable of providing mass storage for thecomputing device 700. In some implementations, the storage device 706can be or contain a computer-readable medium, e.g., a computer-readablestorage medium such as a floppy disk device, a hard disk device, anoptical disk device, or a tape device, a flash memory or other similarsolid state memory device, or an array of devices, including devices ina storage area network or other configurations. A computer programproduct can also be tangibly embodied in an information carrier. Thecomputer program product can also contain instructions that, whenexecuted, perform one or more methods, such as those described above.The computer program product can also be tangibly embodied in acomputer- or machine-readable medium, such as the memory 704, thestorage device 706, or memory on the processor 702.

The high-speed interface 708 manages bandwidth-intensive operations forthe computing device 700, while the low-speed interface 712 manageslower bandwidth-intensive operations. Such allocation of functions isexemplary only. In some implementations, the high-speed interface 708 iscoupled to the memory 704, the display 716 (e.g., through a graphicsprocessor or accelerator), and to the high-speed expansion ports 710,which can accept various expansion cards (not shown). In theimplementation, the low-speed interface 712 is coupled to the storagedevice 706 and the low-speed expansion port 714. The low-speed expansionport 714, which can include various communication ports (e.g., USB,Bluetooth, Ethernet, wireless Ethernet) can be coupled to one or moreinput/output devices, such as a keyboard, a pointing device, a scanner,or a networking device such as a switch or router, e.g., through anetwork adapter.

The computing device 700 can be implemented in a number of differentforms, as shown in the figure. For example, it can be implemented as astandard server 720, or multiple times in a group of such servers. Inaddition, it can be implemented in a personal computer such as a laptopcomputer 722. It can also be implemented as part of a rack server system724. Alternatively, components from the computing device 700 can becombined with other components in a mobile device (not shown), such as amobile computing device 750. Each of such devices can contain one ormore of the computing device 700 and the mobile computing device 750,and an entire system can be made up of multiple computing devicescommunicating with each other.

The mobile computing device 750 includes a processor 752, a memory 764,an input/output device such as a display 754, a communication interface766, and a transceiver 768, among other components. The mobile computingdevice 750 can also be provided with a storage device, such as amicro-drive or other device, to provide additional storage. Each of theprocessor 752, the memory 764, the display 754, the communicationinterface 766, and the transceiver 768, are interconnected using variousbuses, and several of the components can be mounted on a commonmotherboard or in other manners as appropriate.

The processor 752 can execute instructions within the mobile computingdevice 750, including instructions stored in the memory 764. Theprocessor 752 can be implemented as a chipset of chips that includeseparate and multiple analog and digital processors. The processor 752can provide, for example, for coordination of the other components ofthe mobile computing device 750, such as control of user interfaces,applications run by the mobile computing device 750, and wirelesscommunication by the mobile computing device 750.

The processor 752 can communicate with a user through a controlinterface 758 and a display interface 756 coupled to the display 754.The display 754 can be, for example, a TFT (Thin-Film-Transistor LiquidCrystal Display) display or an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode)display, or other appropriate display technology. The display interface756 can comprise appropriate circuitry for driving the display 754 topresent graphical and other information to a user. The control interface758 can receive commands from a user and convert them for submission tothe processor 752. In addition, an external interface 762 can providecommunication with the processor 752, so as to enable near areacommunication of the mobile computing device 750 with other devices. Theexternal interface 762 can provide, for example, for wired communicationin some implementations, or for wireless communication in otherimplementations, and multiple interfaces can also be used.

The memory 764 stores information within the mobile computing device750. The memory 764 can be implemented as one or more of acomputer-readable medium or media, a volatile memory unit or units, or anon-volatile memory unit or units. An expansion memory 774 can also beprovided and connected to the mobile computing device 750 through anexpansion interface 772, which can include, for example, a SIMM (SingleIn Line Memory Module) card interface. The expansion memory 774 canprovide extra storage space for the mobile computing device 750, or canalso store applications or other information for the mobile computingdevice 750. Specifically, the expansion memory 774 can includeinstructions to carry out or supplement the processes described above,and can include secure information also. Thus, for example, theexpansion memory 774 can be provide as a security module for the mobilecomputing device 750, and can be programmed with instructions thatpermit secure use of the mobile computing device 750. In addition,secure applications can be provided via the SIMM cards, along withadditional information, such as placing identifying information on theSIMM card in a non-hackable manner.

The memory can include, for example, flash memory and/or NVRAM memory(non-volatile random access memory), as discussed below. In someimplementations, a computer program product is tangibly embodied in aninformation carrier. The computer program product contains instructionsthat, when executed, perform one or more methods, such as thosedescribed above. The computer program product can be a computer- ormachine-readable medium, such as the memory 764, the expansion memory774, or memory on the processor 752. In some implementations, thecomputer program product can be received in a propagated signal, forexample, over the transceiver 768 or the external interface 762.

The mobile computing device 750 can communicate wirelessly through thecommunication interface 766, which can include digital signal processingcircuitry where necessary. The communication interface 766 can providefor communications under various modes or protocols, such as GSM voicecalls (Global System for Mobile communications), SMS (Short MessageService), EMS (Enhanced Messaging Service), or MMS messaging (MultimediaMessaging Service), CDMA (code division multiple access), TDMA (timedivision multiple access), PDC (Personal Digital Cellular), WCDMA(Wideband Code Division Multiple Access), CDMA2000, or GPRS (GeneralPacket Radio Service), among others. Such communication can occur, forexample, through the transceiver 768 using a radio-frequency. Inaddition, short-range communication can occur, such as using aBluetooth, WiFi, or other such transceiver (not shown). In addition, aGPS (Global Positioning System) receiver module 770 can provideadditional navigation- and location-related wireless data to the mobilecomputing device 750, which can be used as appropriate by applicationsrunning on the mobile computing device 750.

The mobile computing device 750 can also communicate audibly using anaudio codec 760, which can receive spoken information from a user andconvert it to usable digital information. The audio codec 760 canlikewise generate audible sound for a user, such as through a speaker,e.g., in a handset of the mobile computing device 750. Such sound caninclude sound from voice telephone calls, can include recorded sound(e.g., voice messages, music files, etc.) and can also include soundgenerated by applications operating on the mobile computing device 750.

The mobile computing device 750 can be implemented in a number ofdifferent forms, as shown in the figure. For example, it can beimplemented as a cellular telephone 780. It can also be implemented aspart of a smart-phone 782, personal digital assistant, or other similarmobile device.

Various implementations of the systems and techniques described here canbe realized in digital electronic circuitry, integrated circuitry,specially designed ASICs (application specific integrated circuits),computer hardware, firmware, software, and/or combinations thereof.These various implementations can include implementation in one or morecomputer programs that are executable and/or interpretable on aprogrammable system including at least one programmable processor, whichcan be special or general purpose, coupled to receive data andinstructions from, and to transmit data and instructions to, a storagesystem, at least one input device, and at least one output device.

These computer programs (also known as programs, software, softwareapplications or code) include machine instructions for a programmableprocessor, and can be implemented in a high-level procedural and/orobject-oriented programming language, and/or in assembly/machinelanguage. As used herein, the terms machine-readable medium andcomputer-readable medium refer to any computer program product,apparatus and/or device (e.g., magnetic discs, optical disks, memory,Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs)) used to provide machine instructionsand/or data to a programmable processor, including a machine-readablemedium that receives machine instructions as a machine-readable signal.The term machine-readable signal refers to any signal used to providemachine instructions and/or data to a programmable processor.

To provide for interaction with a user, the systems and techniquesdescribed here can be implemented on a computer having a display device(e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor)for displaying information to the user and a keyboard and a pointingdevice (e.g., a mouse or a trackball) by which the user can provideinput to the computer. Other kinds of devices can be used to provide forinteraction with a user as well; for example, feedback provided to theuser can be any form of sensory feedback (e.g., visual feedback,auditory feedback, or tactile feedback); and input from the user can bereceived in any form, including acoustic, speech, or tactile input.

The systems and techniques described here can be implemented in acomputing system that includes a back end component (e.g., as a dataserver), or that includes a middleware component (e.g., an applicationserver), or that includes a front end component (e.g., a client computerhaving a graphical user interface or a Web browser through which a usercan interact with an implementation of the systems and techniquesdescribed here), or any combination of such back end, middleware, orfront end components. The components of the system can be interconnectedby any form or medium of digital data communication (e.g., acommunication network). Examples of communication networks include alocal area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), and the Internet.

The computing system can include clients and servers. A client andserver are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network. The relationship of client and serverarises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other.

While this specification contains many specific implementation details,these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of anyimplementation or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions offeatures that may be specific to particular embodiments of particularimplementations. Certain features that are described in thisspecification in the context of separate embodiments can also beimplemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, variousfeatures that are described in the context of a single embodiment canalso be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in anysuitable subcombination. Moreover, although features may be describedabove as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed assuch, one or more features from a claimed combination can in some casesbe excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may bedirected to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particularorder, this should not be understood as requiring that such operationsbe performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, orthat all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirableresults. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processingmay be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various systemcomponents in the embodiments described above should not be understoodas requiring such separation in all embodiments, and it should beunderstood that the described program components and systems cangenerally be integrated together in a single software product orpackaged into multiple software products.

Particular embodiments of the subject matter described in thisspecification have been described. Other embodiments are within thescope of the following claims. For example, the actions recited in theclaims can be performed in a different order and still achieve desirableresults. As one example, the processes depicted in the accompanyingfigures do not necessarily require the particular order shown, orsequential order, to achieve desirable results. In certainimplementations, multitasking and parallel processing may beadvantageous.

1. A method comprising: receiving ad information from a seller;generating, using one or more processors, a single conversion ad usingthe received ad information, where the single conversion ad has anavailable inventory of one such that only a single conversion of the adcan be performed; transmitting the single conversion ad to one or morepotential buyers; receive an input from one of the one or more potentialbuyers; and notifying the seller of the user input.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, where receiving ad information includes receiving a descriptionof the ad and seller contact information.
 3. The method of claim 2,where the description of the ad includes user specified keywords.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, where receiving ad information includes receiving adpayment to be deducted according to one or more ad payment metrics. 5.The method of claim 4, where any remaining portion of the ad payment isrefunded to the seller after a conversion of the single conversion adoccurs.
 6. The method of claim 1, where generating the single conversionad includes extracting keywords for use in ad targeting from thereceived ad information.
 7. The method of claim 1, where receiving aninput from one of the potential buyers further comprises: receiving auser selection of the ad; presenting seller contact options to the user;and receiving a user selection of a user contact option.
 8. The methodof claim 7, where presenting seller contact options further comprises:determining temporal restrictions on contact information; and presentingseller contact information in compliance with the temporal restrictions.9. The method of claim 1, where receiving an input from one of thepotential buyers further comprises: receiving a user selection of thead; directing the user to a landing page including additional adinformation and seller contact options; and receiving a user selectionof a user contact option.
 10. The method of claim 1, where receiving aninput from one of the potential buyers further comprises: receiving auser selection of the single conversion ad; presenting a biddinginterface to the user; and receiving a user bid submission.
 11. Themethod of claim 10, where notifying the seller includes notifying theseller of the user's submitted bid.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherenotifying the seller includes routing a telephone call to the sellerfrom the potential buyer.
 13. The method of claim 1, where notifying theseller includes routing an email to the seller from the potential buyer.14. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving user commentson the single conversion ad; providing the comments to the seller; andreceiving seller input updating the single conversion ad.
 15. The methodof claim 1, where presenting the single conversion ad to one or morepotential buyers includes presenting the single conversion ad along withsearch results responsive to a relevant query.
 16. The method of claim1, further comprising presenting the single conversion ad to additionalpotential buyers until a conversion of the single conversion ad.
 17. Amethod comprising: receiving a search query from a user; identifying oneor more search results responsive to the search query; identifying,using one or more processors, a single conversion ad responsive to thesearch query; presenting the search results and single conversion ad tothe user; receiving a user selection of the single conversion ad; andproviding seller contact information to the user in response to the userselection.
 18. A system comprising: one or more processors configured tointeract with a computer-readable medium in order to perform operationscomprising: receiving ad information from a seller; generating a singleconversion ad using the received ad information, where the singleconversion ad has an available inventory of one such that only a singleconversion of the ad can be performed; transmitting the singleconversion ad to one or more potential buyers; receive an input from oneof the one or more potential buyers; and notifying the seller of theuser input.
 19. The system of claim 18, where receiving ad informationincludes receiving a description of the ad and seller contactinformation.
 20. The system of claim 19, where the description of the adincludes user specified keywords.
 21. The system of claim 18, wherereceiving ad information includes receiving ad payment to be deductedaccording to one or more ad payment metrics.
 22. The system of claim 21,where any remaining portion of the ad payment is refunded to the sellerafter a conversion of the single conversion ad occurs.
 23. The system ofclaim 18, where generating the single conversion ad includes extractingkeywords for use in ad targeting from the received ad information. 24.The system of claim 18, where receiving an input from one of thepotential buyers further comprises: receiving a user selection of thead; presenting seller contact options to the user; and receiving a userselection of a user contact option.
 25. The system of claim 24, wherepresenting seller contact options further comprises: determiningtemporal restrictions on contact information; and presenting sellercontact information in compliance with the temporal restrictions. 26.The system of claim 18, where receiving an input from one of thepotential buyers further comprises: receiving a user selection of thead; directing the user to a landing page including additional adinformation and seller contact options; and receiving a user selectionof a user contact option.
 27. The system of claim 18, where receiving aninput from one of the potential buyers further comprises: receiving auser selection of the single conversion ad; presenting a biddinginterface to the user; and receiving a user bid submission.
 28. Thesystem of claim 27, where notifying the seller includes notifying theseller of the user's submitted bid.
 29. The system of claim 18, wherenotifying the seller includes routing a telephone call to the sellerfrom the potential buyer.
 30. The system of claim 18, where notifyingthe seller includes routing an email to the seller from the potentialbuyer.
 31. The system of claim 18, further configured to performoperations comprising: receiving user comments on the single conversionad; providing the comments to the seller; and receiving seller inputupdating the single conversion ad.
 32. The system of claim 18, wherepresenting the single conversion ad to one or more potential buyersincludes presenting the single conversion ad along with search resultsresponsive to a relevant query.
 33. The system of claim 18, furthercomprising presenting the single conversion ad to additional potentialbuyers until a conversion of the single conversion ad.
 34. A systemcomprising: one or more processors configured to interact with acomputer-readable medium in order to perform operations comprising:receiving a search query from a user; identifying one or more searchresults responsive to the search query; identifying a single conversionad responsive to the search query; presenting the search results andsingle conversion ad to the user; receiving a user selection of thesingle conversion ad; and providing seller contact information to theuser in response to the user selection.
 35. A computer storage mediumencoded with a computer program, the program comprising instructionsthat when executed by data processing apparatus cause the dataprocessing apparatus to perform operations comprising: receiving adinformation from a seller; generating a single conversion ad using thereceived ad information, where the single conversion ad has an availableinventory of one such that only a single conversion of the ad can beperformed; transmitting the single conversion ad to one or morepotential buyers; receive an input from one of the one or more potentialbuyers; and notifying the seller of the user input.
 36. A computerstorage medium encoded with a computer program, the program comprisinginstructions that when executed by data processing apparatus cause thedata processing apparatus to perform operations comprising: receiving asearch query from a user; identifying one or more search resultsresponsive to the search query; identifying a single conversion adresponsive to the search query; presenting the search results and singleconversion ad to the user; receiving a user selection of the singleconversion ad; and providing seller contact information to the user inresponse to the user selection.